[Ubuntu-US-CA] Common LUG booth at LinuxWorld

[Grant Bowman]

Hi Troy,

You and I are thinking along the same lines.  I don't know if you have
considered these things but I'll throw them out for discussion.  Let
me start by saying I would much prefer to have a fully staffed booth
answering all kinds of user questions with CA LoCo logoed banners and
unlimited CDs to give out, both at the booth and in front of Moscone
Center to all attendees that walk in the door plus some kind of cute
handout freebie.  Of course we don't have those kinds of resources.

Given the popularity of the distro and the size of the event I vote
for a bit of caution.  There are very very few CA LoCo members that
live near San Francisco.  Staffing requirements over three full days
plus setup and take down isn't insignificant.  My opinion is that
having an empty booth during the show would not be beneficial to us or
Ubuntu.  What are we going to put in the bare booth?  I know how much
time and effort it takes to make a strong showing at an event like
this.

As we wait to hear through Joe Smith (Yasumoto) and Jono Bacon to see
if space is available for our own booth in the .Org area, even if it's
at no cost, we should take a moment before accepting it.  I am looking
at the overall cost/benefit.  If we do our own booth it means we can't
do other things.  We have to be realistic about what resources we have
before committing them.  I think we need to know one main thing.  How
many CA LoCo members can confirm they are ready/willing/able to
prepare for and participate during the whole event in San Francisco?

I don't see that we would be losing out if we choose to not have our
own booth, especially if we leverage our efforts elsewhere.  There
will be a strong official Ubuntu presence, we wouldn't be letting
anyone down.  LoCos like us are not even intended to replace existing
LUGS, but instead to complement them. [1]  Maybe we can do our own
effort well AND complement other groups well.  However I think we will
have to make choices between the two.

I would hate to get so busy as to ignore the existing efforts that are
well staffed (able to answer user questions) where we might be able to
make a significant and visible difference.  Perhaps other local LUGs
will have booths as well, I don't know yet.  Canonical should have a
booth and have scheduled an Ubucon.  I'm sure there are many talks
being given by Canonical employees.  Some speakers might appreciate
help during the presentations or running to get the cable they forgot,
lol.  Could Canonical use some help?  It's just my opinion, but it
would be good to know before accepting booth space.

-- 
-- Grant Bowman <grantbow at gmail.com>


[1] https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LoCoWorkingWithOtherGroups


On Thu, Jul 17, 2008 at 3:14 PM, Troy Ready <troy at troyready.com> wrote:
> (I'm new to this evangelism, and I may not go, so take this with a grain of salt)
>
> The positive aspects of this are certainly huge, but as a LoCo don't we want to be a bit more specific in our effort? I mean, if we're not gonna do a Ubuntu-specific thing, than helping a LUG is good, but it seems like it should be the backup.
>
> Or is my thinking too exclusionary?
>
> -Troy
>
> -----Original Message-----
>
> From:  "Grant Bowman" <grantbow at gmail.com>
> Subj:  [Ubuntu-US-CA] Common LUG booth at LinuxWorld
> Date:  Thu Jul 17, 2008 15:05
> Size:  1K
> To:  "Ubuntu US California" <ubuntu-us-ca at lists.ubuntu.com>
>
> The BALUG folks have organized a booth at LinuxWorld and are inviting
> other related groups to participate.  It would be far simpler and we
> could see more of the show ourselves by helping them out rather than
> staffing and manning our own booth.
>
> FYI,
>
> --
> -- Grant Bowman <grantbow at gmail.com>
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: jim <jim at well.com>
> Date: Thu, Jul 17, 2008 at 7:02 AM
> Subject: [conspire] Common LUG booth at LinuxWorld: come help out
> To: conspire at linuxmafia.com
>
>  There will be a booth for bay area Linux groups and
> related in the .Org Pavilion of this year's LinuxWorld,
> Tuesday August 5 through Thursday August 7, in Moscone
> Center in San Francisco, thanks to the Bay Area Linux
> User Group (BALUG) (in the .Org Pavilion, booth 14).
>
>  If you're going to LinuxWorld any of those three
> days, please stop by and help out at the booth: the
> job is to hang out, talk with other people who are
> working the booth, and talk with people who stop by
> and want to know about the various SF Bay Area Linux
> User Groups and related groups.
>  Even a short stint will help someone who wants a
> break or wants to see a bit of the show. Last year
> there were a lot of fun conversations, and a few
> people brought demo machines.
>
>  If you can't make it, try to get some printed
> handouts about your group that we can pass out.
>
>  If you can make it, please email jim at well.com
> with times you can be there (morning, mid-day, or
> afternoon) so we can schedule. If you'll be there
> all of one day or two or three days, let me know
> so we can plug you in where coverage is light.
>
>  Thanks in advance,
> jim at well dot com
> _______________________________________________
> conspire mailing list
> conspire at linuxmafia.com
> http://linuxmafia.com/mailman/listinfo/conspire